Wiping solder alloys



I' meme Apr. 3, i945 wrrmo soLpnn ALLOYS slum A. Smith, In, Metuchen, N.J.,-assignor to American 8melting and Refining Company, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Application July 17. 1942, Serial No. 451,318

This invention relates to lead base alloys and.

more particularly to'quaternary alloys of Pb-Sn- Ag-Sb which are especially useful as wiping solders. I

In making wiped solder connections, as in joining metal pipe sections. cable sheathing and the like. a solder having a relatively low melting point and fairly wide temperature range of plasticity is desired so that the solder can be readily wiped in place between the parts to be joined. Further, in order to be satisfactory, the solder must form a strong non-porous joint.

Ordinary Pb-Sn solders. for example, containing from 65 to 70% lead and 30 to 35% tin, are not suitable as wiping solders because the soldered joints formed from these binary alloys are usually porous and tend to develop leak's. Furthermore, the soldered Joints exhibit low tensile strength andofler little resistance to creep. Some attempts have been made, heretofore, to overcome the excessive porosity of these alloys. such as, for instance, by incorporating a small amount of arsenic to exert a grain refining en'eet.

The addition of arsenic to this type of alloy reduces the porosity of the solder but the other disadvantages are not avoided.

It is an'obieot of this invention to provide an,

improved alloycomposition of the character dc.- fscribed which exhibits superior properties as a solder whereby non-porous wiped Joints having high tensile strength and excellent resistance to creep are readily produted.

Another object oi. this invention is to provide an alloy having a lower melting point than ordinary 70-30 PbSn solder and which is particularly adapted for use as a wiping solder to form" strong, non-porous corrosion resistant Joints.

Another object is to provide an improved solder which has a wide temperature range of plasticity and low liquidus temperature whereby t can be used with ease to. produce sound wiped solder found for similar-binary Pia-'Sn alloys are included. Solder alloy composition 'and physical properties Composition, per cent I Tensile Liiruglus, So ligus, strenzt'h' Pb Bn Ag 7 so so a0 215 183 4,940

my 2o 1% 268 176 ,620

The tin content of the alloy is preferably held to the minimum amount required to provide a solder exhibiting good spreading and adhesive qualities. Tin functions together with the lead and antimony to impart a high degree of tough ness and flexibility to the solder. A range of from 5 to 40% tin may beused, but the preferred and growth whereby sound, non-porous soldered joints are readily produced. The amount of an 1 timony added may range from 0.50% to 3%. A

joints of high tensile strensth. Other objects and advantages of this invention will become parent as the description proceeds. Typical examples of the quaternary alloys which serve to illustrate the invention are givenin the following table, together with some of ,the salient physical properties which have been determined. For comparison, corresponding values rosive substances in use.

percentage amount of approximately 2% is preferred inasmuch as this amount has been found to be very effective in producing the desired resuits.

Silver added to the Pb-Sn base alloy lowers the liquidus temperature and increases the spreading power. This offsets the decrease in spreading power brought about by the addition of anti-. mony. The presence of even a small percentage of silver has been foundto greatly, increase the resistance of Pb-Sn base alloys to corrosion. This becomes an important factor when the soldered joint is required to withstand the action of cor- Silver also increases the hardness and tensile strength of the alloy and, as mentioned above, exerts a. grain refining effect. The amount of silver incorporated may range 'from 0.5% to 5.0%. Test data indisolder is plastic is about 66 C. This range is wide enough to permit working of the solder in the usual manner to produce good wiped joints. In making wiped joints on lead sheathing with solders which have a narrow temperature range of plasticity and relatively-high melting point, itis very difdcult to produce satisfactory joints because the solder must be worked rapidly and great care is necessary to prevent damage to the lead sheathing and insulation. This dimculty has been substantially overcome by the improved solder of this invention.

The alloy solder compositions of the invention may be readily compounded by the conventional methods employed by those skilled in the art for -torily and the temperature range in which the producing ordinary lead-tin solders. It will be also apparent, from the data and description given, that the Pb-Sn-Ag-Sb alloys of thisinvention possess and exhibit properties which make them suitable for various uses other than as solders, and such other uses are intended to come within the scope oi the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

-1. A relatively low melting point alloy soldering composition which consists principally of lead, tin, silver and antimony, said constituents approximating from 5% to 40% tin, 0.5% to 5% silver, 0.5% to 3% antimony with the balance of the alloy composition being made up substantially all of lead.

2. An alloy soldering composition consisting of approximately 30% tin, i /s% silver, 2% antimony and the balance substantially all lead.

3. An alloy soldering composition adapted for use as a wiping solder made up principally of lead, tin, silver and antimony, said constituents being in the approximate percentage amounts by weight of 20 in 30% tin, 0.5 to 5% silver and 0.5 to 3% antimony with the balance substantially all lead.

ALBERT A. SMITH, JR. 

